One of the most common questions we get is whether there are health plan utilization management medical director jobs for specialists. It is a popular nonclinical job, and there is a widely held belief that only primary care physicians qualify.

This question and many others were addressed by my guest, Dr. Richard Berning, in May of 2019 for podcast episode 88. Today’s episode is the replay of that interview. Dr. Berning practiced pediatric cardiology for 20 years before deciding to leave clinical medicine and take his first job as a medical director for a large health plan. And in today’s interview, he explains why he loves that job. He also describes the requirements for landing the job, the usual job duties, and why it is open to both primary care physicians and specialists.

Rich also provides tips for obtaining applicable experience while still working clinically, and how to find that first full-time position as a medical director.

You will find all of the links mentioned in the episode at https://nonclinicalphysicians.com/medical-specialists-and-um-jobs/

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You can learn the business and management skills you need by enrolling in the University of Tennessee Physician Executive MBA program at nonclinicalphysicians.com/physicianmba.

Get the FREE GUIDE to 10 Nonclinical Careers at nonclinicalphysicians.com/freeguide.

Get a list of 70 nontraditional jobs at nonclinicalphysicians.com/70jobs.

Ethan Nkana founded his agency, Rocky Mountain Physician Agency, to honor his mother's legacy as an anesthesiologist by helping physicians like her earn the highest possible compensation in their employment agreements.

With his JD and MBA degrees and over 15 years of hospital executive experience in physician contracting, hospital operations, and human resources, he has a deep understanding of the complexities of physician employment agreements.

He has negotiated hundreds of physicians' contracts and his focus now is on helping physicians earn the highest salaries in the market while optimizing their entire benefits package.

In today’s interview, Ethan describes his experiences helping negotiate contracts and how he addresses salaries, noncompete clauses, tail coverage, and other critical issues. And he explains why it is critically important to negotiate the best possible employment contract possible.

You will find all of the links mentioned in the episode at https://nonclinicalphysicians.com/negotiate-a-great-contract/

                                                              ===============

You can learn the business and management skills you need by enrolling in the University of Tennessee Physician Executive MBA program at nonclinicalphysicians.com/physicianmba.

Get the FREE GUIDE to 10 Nonclinical Careers at nonclinicalphysicians.com/freeguide.

Get a list of 70 nontraditional jobs at nonclinicalphysicians.com/70jobs.

In this week’s show, John interviews Dr. Morgan Leafe. Dr. Leafe is a board-certified pediatrician with over 20 years of experience in clinical practice and medical education. She received her medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and a Master’s in Healthcare Administration (MHA) with an Informatics Concentration from St. Joseph’s University, also in Philadelphia. She is also board-certified in Clinical Informatics.

Morgan was very intentional about leaving clinical medicine and starting a freelance nonclinical career that allows her to work remotely, including while traveling. She chose to become a medical writer and started part-time about 5 years ago. Today she writes full-time, with a focus on writing for medical education companies, blogs, websites, life care planning organizations, board review companies, and others.

In today’s interview, Morgan describes her career journey and the types of writing that she does. She provides advice on how to explore and prepare for a career in medical writing, including the characteristics of each genre and how to use mentors and networking to find writing projects as a freelancer.

You will find all of the links mentioned in the episode at https://nonclinicalphysicians.com/love-medical-writing/

                                                              ===============

You can learn the business and management skills you need by enrolling in the University of Tennessee Physician Executive MBA program at nonclinicalphysicians.com/physicianmba.

Get the FREE GUIDE to 10 Nonclinical Careers at nonclinicalphysicians.com/freeguide.

Get a list of 70 nontraditional jobs at nonclinicalphysicians.com/70jobs.

Is it still possible to open and run a successful private practice? With practices being bought out by large systems, and newly trained physicians choosing to begin their careers as employees, the private practice is disappearing. However there is a small but persistent group of physicians making it work. Concierge and DPC practices are also breathing life into the private practice.

One of the challenges to running a successful private practice is that most physicians do not have the business training to run a small business. While it does not require an MBA, there are basic business concepts that must be understood for any business to succeed. In this interview with Mr. Eric Miller, listeners will learn some of those basic principles, and how to find the help they need to start a practice and nurture it into a valuable asset.

Eric founded Econologics Financial Advisors in 2012. His tagline is “We turn practice owners into financial beasts: Debt Free. Protected. Invested. Set for Life.” He and his team have helped hundreds of healthcare practice owners learn to treat their practices as investments rather than jobs.

You will find all of the links mentioned in the episode at https://nonclinicalphysicians.com/valuable-business-asset/

                                                              ===============

You can learn the business and management skills you need by enrolling in the University of Tennessee Physician Executive MBA program at nonclinicalphysicians.com/physicianmba.

Get the FREE GUIDE to 10 Nonclinical Careers at nonclinicalphysicians.com/freeguide.

Get a list of 70 nontraditional jobs at nonclinicalphysicians.com/70jobs.

When I began attending management meetings, I was hearing my fellow hospital executives talk about doing a “Swat” Analysis. I figured the term was borrowed from the concept of a Swat Team, since Swat Teams are police tactical units trained, equipped, and deployed to resolve "high-risk situations" quickly.

Later I came to understand that a SWOT Analysis was called that because it is the acronym for a study undertaken by an organization to identify its internal Strengths and Weaknesses, as well as its external Opportunities and Threats. Ideally, a SWOT Analysis is performed by a team, in which each participant brings their unique perspectives and backgrounds to produce a comprehensive list of the SWOT components that can be used to maximize the odds of success when developing a new service or product.

In this podcast episode, John posts a recording of a lecture he gave in which he described his experiences with participating in and running SWOT Analyses from 2 years ago. In it, he also describes how to translate the findings of an Analysis into a series of goals in which a strength or opportunity is used to overcome a threat or weakness. 

You will find all of the links mentioned in the episode at https://nonclinicalphysicians.com/swot-analysis/

                                                              ===============

You can learn the business and management skills you need by enrolling in the University of Tennessee Physician Executive MBA program at nonclinicalphysicians.com/physicianmba.

Get the FREE GUIDE to 10 Nonclinical Careers at nonclinicalphysicians.com/freeguide.

Get a list of 70 nontraditional jobs at nonclinicalphysicians.com/70jobs.

Dr. Nilesh Dave is a pulmonologist and sleep and critical care specialist. In addition to his medical training, he obtained his Master of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Master of Business Administration at Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management.

He first appeared on the podcast 4 years ago. At the time he was practicing and serving as a medical director for one of the regional Blue Cross/Blue Shield subsidiaries. Since then, his career has continued to flourish, and he is now Vice-President for Clinical Effectiveness and Chief Medical Officer for a large hospital system.

In today’s interview, we discuss how his career as a hospital senior executive developed. Nilesh shares advice for others who wish to pursue a similar career path, including his opinion about obtaining advanced certifications and degrees.

You will find all of the links mentioned in the episode at https://nonclinicalphysicians.com/health-system-chief-medical-officer/

                                                              ===============

You can support this podcast by making a small monthly or annual donation. To learn more, go to nonclinicalphysicians.com/donate

Get the FREE GUIDE to 10 Nonclinical Careers at nonclinicalphysicians.com/freeguide.

Get a list of 70 nontraditional jobs at nonclinicalphysicians.com/70jobs.

In this week’s show, John interviews Dr. Luissa Kiprono. She is a Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist who first appeared on the podcast 2 years ago. Dr. Kiprono attended the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine; completed her residency at Wright State University/Wright Patterson Medical Center (OB-GYN); and her perinatology fellowship at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. In 2020 she completed her executive MBA at the University of Tennessee Haslam College of Business.

For most of her career, she worked in a traditional perinatology practice. But in 2022, she started TeleMed MFM, her solo telemedicine practice. Combining technology and commitment to excellent medical care, she is able to make high-risk pregnancy care available to all women beyond borders or geographical limitations. During our interview, she describes how she built her practice, and how she integrates state-of-the-art diagnostic technology into it.

Finally, Dr. Kiprono recently completed her memoire, which is set to be released in February, called Push, Then Breathe: Trauma, Triumph, and the Making of an American Doctor. During our conversation, she explains the inspiration for the book and the process of publishing it.

You will find all of the links mentioned in the episode at https://nonclinicalphysicians.com/new-telemedicine-service/

                                                              ===============

You can support this podcast by making a small monthly or annual donation. To learn more, go to nonclinicalphysicians.com/donate

Get the FREE GUIDE to 10 Nonclinical Careers at nonclinicalphysicians.com/freeguide.

Get a list of 70 nontraditional jobs at nonclinicalphysicians.com/70jobs.

In this week’s show, John interviews Dr. Adam Robison, a full-time hospitalist. Five years ago, he was so frustrated with the lack of important tools in his EMR that he decided to create a solution for himself and others.

With no background in computer programming, he sought help and investigated what it would take to use EHR data to apply important algorithms, rules, and risk assessment tools in real time. He developed a plan, recruited others with the knowledge and skills he needed, and sought investors. Along the way he recruited a co-founder/CEO to help navigate the company’s journey.

In today’s interview, Adam describes how he brought his vision to life while continuing to work as a hospitalist. Today he serves as the Chief Medical Officer of his company, AI Medica. He is proud that his tools are being used by hospitals to improve patient care and make physicians’ work easier.

You will find all of the links mentioned in the episode at https://nonclinicalphysicians.com/found-a-startup/

                                                              ===============

You can support this podcast by making a small monthly or annual donation. To learn more, go to nonclinicalphysicians.com/donate

Get the FREE GUIDE to 10 Nonclinical Careers at nonclinicalphysicians.com/freeguide.

Get a list of 70 nontraditional jobs at nonclinicalphysicians.com/70jobs.

In this week’s show, John interviews Dr. David Feig. Dr. Feig completed his medical degree and his Master’s Degree in Public Health at Emory University. Then he completed a Family Medicine Residency at the University of Michigan and a Sports Medicine Fellowship at Rush University Medical Center. 

He worked for 4 years before branching out into chart reviews, and part-time medical director roles in various settings. He also tried locums and telemedicine along the way. In his most recent job, he is reviews claims as a Medicare contractor.

David describes his educational and career journey. He lists the clinical practices he has worked in, and his stints in locum tenens and telemedicine. He also explains why he was motivated to move away from full-time clinical practice to other options that offered more flexibility and independence.  

Finally, he explains why he decided to take a full time nonclinical job reviewing Medicare claims, how that job differs from the usual UM job, and advice on how to thrive in that position.

You will find all of the links mentioned in the episode at https://nonclinicalphysicians.com/find-fulfillment-and-flexibility

                                                              ===============

You can support this podcast by making a small monthly or annual donation. To learn more, go to nonclinicalphysicians.com/donate

Get the FREE GUIDE to 10 Nonclinical Careers at nonclinicalphysicians.com/freeguide.

Get a list of 70 nontraditional jobs at nonclinicalphysicians.com/70jobs.

In this week’s show, John interviews Dr. Alexandra Howsen. Dr. Howsen is a medical writer, educator, and podcaster. A former trauma operating room nurse, Alex was faculty at the universities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh in Scotland for a decade.

She left academia in 2004 and subsequently built a thriving freelance medical writing business in the USA specializing in creating content for continuing education in the health professions (also known as CME). Alex teaches and coaches new-to-the-field medical writers how to break into CME, find clients, and build a sustainable CME/CE writing niche.

A few years ago, she began teaching and coaching others. She now provides several programs for those pursuing a career as a writer of CE and CME. 

During our interview, Alex describes her journey from nursing to academia to CME and CE writing. She explains why it is an excellent career choice for clinicians who enjoy writing.

You will find all of the links mentioned in the episode at nonclinicalphysicians.com/ce-writing-business

                                                              ===============

You can support this podcast by making a small monthly or annual donation. To learn more, go to nonclinicalphysicians.com/donate

You can now join the most comprehensive Community for all clinicians looking for a nontraditional career at NewScr!pt.

Get an updated edition of the FREE GUIDE to 10 Nonclinical Careers at nonclinicalphysicians.com/freeguide.

Get a list of 70 nontraditional jobs at nonclinicalphysicians.com/70jobs.